Times Leader Staff Writer
Barb Ballint, director of the Belmont County Tourism Council, reports a decrease in lodging tax receipts but said the tourism council will continue its work.
ST. CLAIRSVILLE Belmont County has seen a steep decline in lodging tax receipts due to the coronavirus pandemic, but Tourism Council Director Barb Ballint said her department will keep aiding and promoting local events despite decreased funding.
The lodging tax receipts hit an “all-time low,” declining 53 percent from first quarter 2020 and 66 percent from first quarter 2019. Ballint told county commissioners last week that hotel occupancy was impacted by the pandemic, as well as by decreased work in the oil and gas industry. A tax on people using hotels provides the tourism council’s annual funding.
For The Intelligencer
People attend the 2019 Blame My Roots Festival. This year’s festival is set for July 16-17 at the Valley View Campgrounds, 43263 National Road, Belmont. (Photo Provided)
At this time last year organizers of craft fairs, concerts and many other public events were forced to cancel their plans because of COVID-19 concerns and related mandates handed down by the state.
Now a year later with virus cases becoming fewer and more people getting vaccinated, people are starting to plan those same events again, setting dates in anticipation of life getting back to normal.
For example, the Blame My Roots Festival is scheduled to occur July 16-17 at the Valley View Campgrounds, 43263 National Road, Belmont. It’s slated to be headlined by a big-name country act Miranda Lambert. Other musicians scheduled to appear include Lee Brice, Neal McCoy, Jo Dee Messina, Tenille Townes, Niko Moon, Allie Colleen, Adam Doleac and Walker Montgomery.
Mar 15, 2021
T-L File Photo/SHELLEY HANSON
DURING LAST year’s Belmont County Fair, Dakota Taylor of Morristown holds one of his broiler hens during Junior Fair events. This year’s fair is expected to be a full one.
MARTINS FERRY At this time last year organizers of craft fairs, concerts and many other public events were forced to cancel their plans because of COVID-19 concerns and related mandates handed down by the state.
Now a year later with virus cases becoming fewer and more people getting vaccinated, people are starting to plan those same events again, setting dates in anticipation of life getting back to normal.
Times Leader Staff Writer
ST. CLAIRSVILLE The COVID-19 pandemic dealt a blow to tourism in Belmont County, but tourism Director Barb Ballint voiced hope for a turnaround in 2021 and said some grant funding is available to help events and attractions get back on their feet.
Ballint delivered her fourth quarter 2020 report to the commissioners Wednesday.
“It was a tough year for the tourism industry. We were probably one of the hardest-hit industries due to the pandemic,” she said. “We had to adjust to that. The tourism office used our platform as a resource of information, which helped many people navigate.”
FROM STAFF REPORTS
EDITOR’S NOTE: Through Thursday, The Times Leader presents Eastern Ohio’s Top 10 news stories of 2020, as voted on by the editorial staff.
ST. CLAIRSVILLE As COVID-19 expanded its reach into the United States, Belmont County was the first in the local area to be struck in March by the virus that has since sickened more than 8,000 people in Eastern Ohio.
The pandemic made its way into the region by infecting a local couple who had traveled to Washington, D.C., to attend the Conservative Political Action Conference. But it wasn’t long before the illness began to creep in from all directions, with health department officials pointing to our interstate highways as an easy means of transmission.